Lullaby
by SammmmanthaJ
Summary: Fluffy, shippy, MaxLogan goodness. Logan tries to help Max to go to sleep when she can't.


**Disclaimer: Not mine & never will be. The song is "lullaby" by The Spill Canvas, and I admit to changing a line to better suit the story. Sorrrry. & I shall return Logan fully clothed after I'm done playing with him. **That sounds so dirty.

**A/N: First Dark Angel fic, and it was just something that I had laying around the desktop. I reread it at first to get inspiration to write something - **_**anything**_**- else, since my muse is on hiatus, but instead I was struck with the urge to post it. The timeline is somewhere in the first season...Logan can walk, so, idk. Put it where you want. It's super fluffy and non-dramatic, and you know. It sort of just **_**is**_**.**

**With all that said, I hope you like it!**

"Max, what...?"

Logan had opened the door after incessant knocking had drawn his attention from the computer. He had definitely not expected Max. After all, she usually just barged right in, using whatever entry mode she found particularly convenient, and would proceed to wander around as if she lived there. And while Logan had, many times, asked her if she had ever heard of knocking, he had never expected her to actually take him up on it.

But when he opened the door, he was instantly on his knees, cupping Max's face in his hands. The knocking was not in fact someone's fist, but rather her entire body, as she leaned against it and convulsed severely.

"Max, what's going on?" He asked softly, smoothing the hair out of her face. The seizures were nothing new, but he couldn't help but feel as if something was out of place this time. Max opened her eyes slightly and winced as tremor raced through her body.

"They hurt this time, Logan." She managed to get out in a very small voice. She had never looked this weak to Logan, and he found himself thinking that he'd be glad for her to never look this way again.

"Okay, come on, we'll get you into bed. Do you want me to call a doctor?" Logan stood up slowly, waiting to see if Max would follow. She shook her head vehemently at his question and tried to make it to her feet. She instantly came crashing down.

A small whimper was all that Logan could take as he bent down to pick her up. She didn't even struggle against this, a sure sign that she wasn't herself.

He quickly put her in his own bed, wrapping her up tightly to insure her own safety. Her arms were free and even though she tried to hold onto them, it was in vain, as the shaking continued.

"Hey, hey, hey, Max, come on," Logan tried to coax as he pried her own white knuckled fingers off her own arms.

"What's happening to me, Logan?" Max asked in that small voice once again, and he couldn't help but to wince at it.

"When did you last take tryptophan?"

"I took some this morning, but-" her sentence was cut short as she started shaking violently again. It passed after a few moments and she looked so tired, so weak, so frail.

"I'll go get you some more pills. Want some milk, too?" Logan knew he was talking to her as if she was a child, but he couldn't bring himself to be his usual brash self and he wanted to relax her the most that he could.

"Mmm, that'd be nice," Max said, her eyes drifting shut. On an impulse, Logan leaned over and brushed his lips over her forehead as he stood.

"I'll be right back," he said, clearing his throat a little.

"Mmm, that was nice, too," Max said sleepily, and Logan could only smile at her cuteness despite the dire circumstances. As he went to the kitchen, he grabbed his phone on the way. He would never call a doctor for Max against her wishes, but he just rationalized it in his head that Bling wasn't a doctor per se. He was a friend who just happened to have gone through medical school.

"Yo." Logan rolled his eyes at Bling's greeting, but decided not to comment.

"Hey, it's me." _Yeah, that's a lot better_.

"What do you need?" Bling asked in a resigned voice.

"Quick question." Logan said as he poured the milk into a large water bottle with a removable straw. Max was shaking too heavily to insure that both she and the bed would not be wearing milk at the end of the night if given a regular cup.

"Shoot."

"Pain with seizures. Normal, or cause of concern?" Logan tried to keep his voice level, but he knew that he asked it too rushed, had put too much emotion forth.

"...Max?" Bling asked quietly. With no response, he assumed it was a 'yes.' "My guess is it's muscle cramping. Between overexertion and the constant flexing of the muscles involved with a seizure, it's a very real possibility."

"What do I do?" Logan prayed that he hadn't sounded as desperate as he felt. Max looked to be in so much pain, and it killed him that he couldn't do anything to assuage it.

"Well, keep her hydrated. Get her lot of electrolytes."

"_Electrolytes._" Logan stated dryly. He might have been great with food, but he was only good with food in the whole - he had no business with the little itty bitty parts that made it up.

"Yes. Electrolytes."

"Gonna help me out and tell me where I can find some of those, am I going to have to look it up when I have a convulsing Max on my bed, writhing in pain?" Logan shut his eyes after he barked that out, cursing himself for being so curt and for being such a jackass. But he was desperate.

"Energy drinks. Like the ones I make you drink every day during physio, and that I know for a fact are stocked high in your fridge because you refuse to drink them other times, despite my insistence that they would help."

"Right. Energy drinks. Thanks. And Bling..."

"I know, Logan. It's all good. Go to her."

And with that, Logan clicked off the phone and grabbed a bottle of the energy drinks that were, sure enough, piled high in his fridge. He looked at the label in his hand and quickly exchanged it for another one. _She'll like cherry more_.

--

When Logan got back to the room, he cursed himself for being gone so long. While Max was still wrapped up, she was arched off the bed, and he couldn't be sure, but it looked as if she had tear tracks down her face.

"Okay, lie down, it's okay, here, take some pills," he offered her a handful of pills which she took gratefully, and swallowed before he could offer something to drink along with it.

"Look, it's possible that you're having severe muscle cramps right now," Logan said as he stroked her forehead gently, trying to coax her body into lying down again, despite the constant shaking. Max's eyes shot open at this, and an accusing glare was sent towards Logan.

"No doctor," he said quickly, turning Max's accusing stare into a wary one. "Just Bling." Max had to roll her eyes at his logic at that, but was glad to know that maybe she wasn't slowly combusting, which is what it felt like to her.

"Here, drink this," Logan said, slipping a straw into the energy drink, leaving the milk temporarily forgotten on the night table.

"I d-d-don't do medicine," Max got out shakily.

"Well, this isn't medicine, and even if it was, I'd still tell you to take it because I'm trying to take care of you and you're being stubborn." His eyes softened as he saw Max's taken aback look. "It'll help with the cramping. Just an energy drink. Has electrolytes in it."

At this, Max managed a small grateful smile and took it, drinking all of it in a few mere moments.

"Mmm. Cherry."

"Thought you'd like it," Logan said with a glint in his eye.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence after that, with Logan stroking her forehead, occasionally massaging a calf that became particularly bothersome. Their relationship had been gradually changing, and both were aware of it yet unsure what to do about it.

Logan knew exactly how he felt about Max, yet had no idea what to do with that information. Every time he looked at her, he felt like someone _up there_ liked him. That someone up there cared enough about him to send him this one person that would fill any void in his life. Max filled voids he didn't even know he had, which was so much more than he had ever hoped for. After Valerie, he had decidedly given up women. The accident just seemed to punctuate his decision. But then Max came waltzing into his life, with her glib humor and her infectious sarcasm, and even more with her innate compassion and ability to see people for who they were. Max came and woke up everything that he had ever thought was dormant.

Max didn't know how she felt about Logan. All she knew was that she had never felt this way about anyone, ever. And she was even more terrified of this feeling because she had no idea if Logan felt whatever it was back. It was disconcerting and frustrating and wonderful and magical and she wondered that if she were to run away ... would she ever experience this again? And that thought is what kept her around. She knew it was stupid, after all, Kendra claimed to fall in love every other night. But if this was love, she didn't want to let it go. She wanted to hold onto it and cherish it and do everything in her power to make it continue. She wanted to feel like this forever.

And that in itself was a scary thought.

"Aaah!" Max couldn't contain the half moan, half scream that escaped her lips. Her muscles were trying to relax, but the seizures wouldn't let them. It felt like her body was turning on itself, trying to do such opposing actions.

She thrashed on the bed uncontrollably. The worst part of it was that while her body was protesting everything it had ever been taught, her mind was lucid. And all she could think about was the fact that she must look _so stupid_ right now. Unfortunately, she could barely manage to keep her body on the bed, let alone get her mouth to comprehend what her brain was trying to say.

"Max! Max, Max, come on, you gotta calm down here, Max..." Logan tried to calm her down from his perch next to the bed, but could only do so much, and it was doing absolutely nothing to sway Max's seizing. _She's going to hurt herself_, Logan thought as he watched her try to both control her shaking and react to the pain coursing through her body.

Yet another impulse, which Logan would never regret, caused him to crawl onto the bed and take her in his arms. He used basic restraining techniques, ones that he knew Max would be able to escape in about a split second should she want to, but he noticed that she didn't seem to be in complete control of her body at that point. He slid behind her body and wrapped his arms around her, clasping her forearms in his, bringing them both towards her chest, effectively trapping them.

"Shhh, it's okay, you're okay, shhh," he whispered softly in her ear, trying to calm her down and bring her back to earth.

Finally, her thrashing subsided, and her body was only wracked with slight tremors. He slowly relaxed his on her arms, letting her slide out of his grip tentatively. Refusing to give up all contact, lying behind her still, he moved his right hand only to her shoulder, letting it rest there.

"What a way to spend your night, h-h-huh?" Max said finally, drawing a laugh from Logan.

"I could think of worse ways." He said simply, letting the silence take them both for a few minutes.

"What do you want to do?" He asked eventually, reveling in the fact that it had been minutes since the last muscle cramp, and her seizures, while not subsiding, were not getting progressively worse.

"Never thought I'd say this, but I want to sleep." She paused for a moment, letting a more violent tremor run it's course. "But I don't think that's in the cards for tonight."

"Do you want me to...?"

"No!" Max said a little more quickly than she would've liked. "Don't leave. Not yet."

"I won't." He replied, not moving a muscle from his previous position.

--

"You know," Logan began after about a half hour of lying together in silence. "My mother used to always sing me to sleep when I was having trouble getting to bed. She would sing me a lullaby, but create different words every time."

"Do it," Max said softly, trying desperately to fall into the dreamland, but finding it impossible.

"Do what?" Logan asked curiously.

"Sing to me." Logan couldn't tell if Max was entirely awake when she said this. Her voice was definitely leaning towards the asleep side, but she was fairly coherent. Truth was, he hadn't mentioned his mother's songs as a segue into anything. He had just merely been making conversation, thinking of his own memories.

"I don't-"

"No one's ever sang to me before," Max said in the same tired voice, subconsciously snuggling into Logan.

Sighing to himself, Logan recalled the tune that his mother used, years and years ago. He hadn't sang in a long time, and he definitely hadn't thought of that song in what seemed like forever. But it took surprisingly less time than he would've imagined in order to recall it, and he found himself creating his own words and singing them softly to Max.

"_It's the way that you blush when you're nervous_

_It's your ability to make me earn this,_

_I know that you're tired,_

_Just let me sing you to sleep._

_It's about how you laugh out of pity,_

'_Cause let's be honest, I'm not really that funny_

_I know that you're shot,_

_Just let me sing you to sleep."_

"I think you're funny, Logan. When you're not being a jerk." Logan laughed at that and pressed a kiss to her temple, continuing to sing.

"_If you need anything, just say word_

_And I mean anything._

_Rest assured, if you start to doze_

_Then I'll tuck you in,_

_And plant my lips where your necklaces close."_

Logan accented this by planting a kiss to the tiny clasp that was resting against her barcode on the back of her neck. Max hadn't known what to say when Logan had given her his mother's locket. She had been complaining how she always felt like just a 'guy' around the Jam Pony crew, and how Original Cindy and Kendra were always decked out to the nines in their makeup and glitz, and how sometimes she just felt outdone when it came to things of a more feminine nature. Logan's solution was the locket. She had tried desperately to try and talk him out of it, after all, it was clearly close to his heart. But Logan was adamant, and he had already made up his mind.

And the truth of the matter was, Max loved it. She had no idea how such a small item could make her fell so much more feminine and beautiful, but it did. It didn't hurt that the look Logan always gave her when she wore it around him could have probably melted the ice caps.

Noting that Max was getting closer and closer to falling asleep, Logan continued to sing but brought his volume down, just above a whisper now.

"_It's those pills that you shouldn't have to take_

_Medicating perfection, now that's a mistake._

_I know that you're spent,_

_Just let me sing you to sleep."_

A small tear escaped Max's eye at this. She had schooled her breathing to remain even and shallow, convincing Logan that she wasn't 100 awake, but as the song went on, she found herself waking up more and more, wanting to listen to what the amazing man behind her thought of her.

Max had never been called perfect. Never. And she never thought that she would ever live to hear those words. But now as she lay there in the dim light of the candles on the nightstand, she realized just how much she needed to hear those words. Hearing that someone thinks you're perfect is somehow so much more than just hearing that someone loves you.

"_It's your finger, and how I'm wrapped around it._

_It's your grace, and how it keeps me grounded._

_I know that you're weak,_

_Just let me sing you to sleep."_

Max found that another tear had fallen. And another. And another.

"_If you need anything, just say the word_

_And I mean anything._

_Rest assured, if you start to doze_

_Then I'll tuck you in,_

_And plant my lips where your necklaces close."_

Logan had felt a tear hit his arm that was still trapped under Max, but had assumed it was from the pain. But, after a few more fell, he realized that Max hadn't had any more bouts of pain, and she was in fact, awake, and even more so, _crying_. He was worried at first, if the pain had gotten so intense that she couldn't even cry out, but he realized that a small smile was hinting at the corner of her lips, the only part of them he could actually see from his vantage point. He couldn't see the front of Max, nor her true facial expressions, but he let the worry ebb a little and took a leap of faith when he sang the next words that came to his head.

"_While you were sleeping,_

_I figured out everything._

_I was constructed for you,_

_And you were molded for me._

_Now I feel your name,_

_Coursing through my veins,_

_You shine so bright, it's insane,_

_You put the sun to shame."_

Max let the tears come in earnest now, not even trying to keep them in. She knew Logan knew she was awake at this point, and she knew the ball was in her court. But at that moment, she was too overcome with emotion to do much of anything. Logan had mentioned how sometimes he liked the fact that Max's blood was flowing in his body. He had said it made him feel closer to her, which, at the time, was alluding to Max's distance emotionally. But he had said it at times afterwards that didn't allude to anything except the comfort he felt when she was around.

As Max shifted in his arms, flipping on her back slowly, she felt it, and she knew it definitely. _This is love_.

Logan was slightly taken aback by the movement in his arms, but quickly shifted himself to allow room for her to lie properly. He pushed himself up slightly, resting his elbow on the bed and his head in his hand. He brought a soft hand up to her face and wiped her tears away with his thumbs. However, the look on his face only served to cause another onslaught of tears.

"If you need anything, I mean anything," he sang softly, looking down at her face, his heart so full he thought it would burst. He slowly inched his face closer to hers, giving her ample time to move, or object, which she didn't. "Rest assured, if you start to doze, then I'll tuck you in, plant my lips where your necklaces close."

And with that, their lips sealed. It was salty and tender and slightly shaky from the tremors that still wracked her body, but it was also love and passion and fervor. It was _them_.


End file.
